Shooting in -30 degrees

Man good luck, i tried to shoot at -35 in Nepal several years ago on a climbing trip and my leica froze and nearly all the film i had cracked. You need to keep your gear very warm and shoot fast, its amazing how quick metal freezes.

Matt www.mattshonfeld.com

 I was just thinking what’s better to shoot: on still warm film or to get the camera and film used to temperature? From what you say first option is better. Thanks Matt.
Rafal

yes 1st option is better, have a good bag and thaw everything out every night. I would be very interested to see your work from Siberia, i would love to shoot out there sometime. My wife is Polish and sometimes we come to Warsaw, it would be good to hook up next time i’m over there.
Cheers
Matt

Great!
Definately, let me know when you’re in Warsaw or in Poland!
thanks for advice
Rafal

Hi Rafal

It is possible to shoot if your very disciplined. I have shot in similar temperatures  before but I was given some good advice. It is important to keep the film warm but not too warm because the film may not crack but you will have problems with reticulation…B/W film is vulnerable to this. Colour less so because the dyes are incorporated in the gelatine base.

What I did was cut down an old padded down jacket to line the film bag. It’s a natural material so it kind of regulates it’s temperature. Once in the camera shoot as Matt said as quick as possible & return it to the down lined bag.

You can get wraps to keep the camera body warm which should allow you to shoot for longer… I think Lowe pro make them.

Why not try & contact Carl De Keyser from Magnum. He shot in all conditions in Siberia.

Good Luck

Mark

I worked on the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir a few years ago. It goes to negative 50 there (no idea if that’s C or F). Mostly, Leicas did fine, altho anything battery operated would fail quickly in the cold. On another camera (not a Leica) the lubricants in the lens barrel seemed to freeze up, shutting down the lens. I had no problems with film freezing or cracking. mostly I kept the cameras tucked inside my jacket and pulled them out to photograph, then back inside the  jacket.

Hi Rafal -

I have photographed a fair amount in the Antarctic, and found it quite challenging to keep my hands warm enough to photograph. I usually wore a very warm pair of mittens, or gloves and thin glove liners, which I did not take off until I was somewhere warm and dry. When it got really cold, with strong winds, I placed one or two hand warmers (available at any outdoor retailer) inside my liners. Also, get an oversized parka that is big enough to stuff batteries, film, body/ies inside and still zip up! Have a great trip!

Melanie

Thank you very much guys for useful informations!
Hope my old Rollei will survive,
cheers
Rafal

Rafal privet!
come to Moscow and you can talk here to the guys.
see you.

Anya

Priviet  Anna,
I will come to Moscow for sure, but I have to prepare everything before,  I’ll let you know  when  i know details and hope see you then
do you know the photographers who shot in Siberia who could give me some technical support? by the way do you have some contact to Carl De Keyser?, he must know everything about winter Siberia shooting
Poka
Rafal

www.carldekeyzer.com

i have a contact of russian photographer that he was working with. he lives in krasnoyarsk. sasha kuznetsov. write to me on the mail. i’ll send it to you. anna @photographer.ru